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Velocity

by Steve Worland (Goodreads Author)

4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 · rating details · 18 ratings · 11 reviews

The MAN - an astronaut who has lost his mojo

The MISSION - to seek and destroy a hijacked space shuttle

The CARGO - enough weapons grade Uranium-235 to irradiate Manhattan

The STAKES - the woman he loves and the fate of a city

Strap in for a supersonic ride as 'Velocity' blasts off at mach speed. From NASA's Cape Canaveral to the Central Australian desert, screenwriter Steve...more

Paperback, 1st Edition, 344 pages

Published August 22nd 2012 by Penguin Australia

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Sep 03, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-are, provided-by-publisher, aussie-author

I wasn't sure what to expect from Velocity but it's endorsed by Hugh Jackman and that's good enough for me!
Having lost his nerve after witnessing the death of his best friend in the explosion that destroyed the Columbia, NASA astronaut Judson Bell realises, when he crashes the simulated space shuttle, Discovery for the third time, that he won't ever make it back into space. When the Atlantis is cleared for a the next mission, Judd's newly ex girlfriend and fellow astronaut, Rhonda, is named as...more
I wasn't sure what to expect from Velocity but it's endorsed by Hugh Jackman and that's good enough for me!
Having lost his nerve after witnessing the death of his best friend in the explosion that destroyed the Columbia, NASA astronaut Judson Bell realises, when he crashes the simulated space shuttle, Discovery for the third time, that he won't ever make it back into space. When the Atlantis is cleared for a the next mission, Judd's newly ex girlfriend and fellow astronaut, Rhonda, is named as the pilot and Judd is assigned to the White Room for the first launch test. What begins as an uncomfortable situation for the pair spirals wildly out of control when the unthinkable happens and the shuttle is hijacked by a Frenchman and ex pop star.

I have to admit I was a little confused when I began reading, not sure how the events and characters in the first few chapters could possibly fit together but as the story unfolds, Worland brings it together masterfully. The plot centers around the stolen space shuttle, Henri's nefarious plans for it and Judd's desperate desire to rescue Rhonda from them. As the boffins at Cape Canaveral scramble to find the Atlantis Judd essentially stumbles across it in the Australian outback where he was sent after the incident to oversee the reactivation of a satellite tracker. With the reluctant help of Corey, an eccentric Aussie chopper pilot (and his dog, Spike), Judd takes on this group of mercenaries to discover if he can be in fact a steely-eyed missile man and save the day. There are some unexpected twists as traitors and allies emerge from the unlikeliest of places.

Velocity reminds me of a Nicholas Cage action movie, particularly ConAir, with it's mix of explosive aerial action, quirky, dry humour and flawed but courageous heroes. It's not a surprise really given Worland is a screenwriter and as such his style of writing creates scenes that are easy to visualise. Velocity contains its fair share of barely plausible incidents but it's easy to dismiss the unlikely in favour of the convincing effects and just enough credible detail.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the characters of Velocity. Judd is an interesting, atypical hero. His devotion to Rhonda may be excessive, especially given her casual treatment of him, but it provides a convincing motivation for his actions. Despite the overwhelming odds Judd never gave up fidning unexpected reserves of strength and savvy. My favourite character was Corey whose quick thinking, prodigious flying skills and laconic attitude to missile attacks earnt my admiration. His chats with Spike raised a smile every time and I could almost hear the music score as he swooped in driving a herd of cattle at the taxiing Galaxy. Even the villains had an odd appeal with an ex pop star turned merc, Kelvin's crisis of conscience and Dirk's frustration with Judd.

In Velocity, fast paced action and intrigue is accompanied by humor and heart with a touch of romance (because the hero always gets his girl). An exciting, funny and quick read, I've gifted Velocity to my dad for Father's Day and I have no doubt he will enjoy it.

PS. I'm not sure if Worland (and Penguin) intended the the trailer for Velocity to be amusing but it is, with it's very American film voice over and toy shuttle it's totally worth watching... especially after you have read the book.

(less)

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Aug 23, 2012 Bree T rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, australian, crime, military-thriller, saving-the-world, series, survival, suspense, thriller

Judd Bell used to have it all. He was the top of his game as an astronaut, the man of the moment. And he had a beautiful, smart girlfriend named Rhonda who worked along side of him at NASA. There was no denying that Judd Bell was going places.

But then the space shuttle Columbia is lost, taking with it Judd’s best friend and the man of the moment loses his mojo. His career is suddenly going in a downward spiral, not rising up through the roof and it’s Rhonda that is rising. When she is chosen to...more Judd Bell used to have it all. He was the top of his game as an astronaut, the man of the moment. And he had a beautiful, smart girlfriend named Rhonda who worked along side of him at NASA. There was no denying that Judd Bell was going places.

But then the space shuttle Columbia is lost, taking with it Judd’s best friend and the man of the moment loses his mojo. His career is suddenly going in a downward spiral, not rising up through the roof and it’s Rhonda that is rising. When she is chosen to pilot a new mission in space, Judd knows that things between them have changed. She’s different now, and he doesn’t know how to fix it.

As the space shuttle Atlantis is preparing for take off, the unthinkable happens – the shuttle is highjacked by an advanced team of terrorists and completely taken over. The high level of skill, funding and even luck required to be able to pull off such a thing is baffling and no one can believe that it has actually taken place. A space shuttle, stolen off the launch pad – it’s unbelievable. This could be the end of the space exploration program, the end of everything if they don’t get that space shuttle back and prevent whatever it is the terrorists want to use it for.

But to Judd, that’s all secondary – what he cares about is the fact that Rhonda is strapped into that space shuttle and is little more than a pawn in a terrorist’s game. If they pull off their mission, there is no way the love of his life will come back alive and Judd knows he can’t let that happen. Frustrated about being sent to Central Australia to gain access to a satelite dish receiving data after the terrorists destroyed valuable ones for collecting flight tracking data in the take off, Judd is suddenly shocked to realise that he could just have inadvertently ended up right in the thick of things. A space shuttle gone blind in the night…..might not be so untraceable after all.

But Judd is going to have to overcome some problems if he wants to stop the terrorists and save not only Rhonda, but the world as well. For starters, he’s alone in the unforgiving Australian desert with nothing more than a crazy helicopter pilot who talks to his cattle dog for company and back-up. And Judd also has that little problem of his confidence….

Velocity is a heart-stopping new thriller from first time Australian author, Steve Worland. Having previously worked in film and television, Worland has now turned his talents to novel writing and the result is a fast-paced, action packed story that takes a reader on a pretty wild ride! We start with Judd Bell on top of his game, knowing he’s at the top of his game and that his life couldn’t be any more perfect. He’s an astronaut on the way up, he’s got a fantastic girlfriend, he’s the man. All of that changes when space shuttle Columbia breaks up upon re-entry to Earth’s orbit and Judd is crippled by grief and also, doubt. All of a sudden he’s making mistakes, he’s struggling with simple SIM exercises and chances are, he’s not going into space when Atlantis is cleared for its mission. Not only that, but his relationship with Rhonda is suffering greatly. Judd’s lack of confidence has caused him to become needy and Rhonda is not in a position to be able to shore him up and deal with that neediness.

When Atlantis is high-jacked and Rhonda along with it, Judd’s focus is getting her back. The fact that he also needs to stop what the terrorists have planned is in his mind, but his thoughts are primarily for Rhonda. At times I did question whether or not Rhonda deserved such devotion from Judd – she was quite rough on him in terms of his state of mind and unable to really want to deal with a boyfriend that was no longer the man of the minute. I felt that I didn’t quite get a good enough handle on the good times of their relationship to really appreciate the depth of Judd’s feeling and desperation to save her.

But apart from that, this book was really fun! I don’t really like action movies so much because I am the person who always criticises the lack of plausibility but for some reason, I don’t seem to have that issue when I am reading books. I think that Worland really thought out the possibilities of actually high-jacking a shuttle, what it would take, how long it would take, the sort of skills that would need to be involved and that shows in the writing. So many things are covered, so much planning and meticulous detail and this continues throughout the story when Judd is sent to Central Australia and what he discovers there. I know that Worland is Australian, so it’s not surprising to see our country playing a large role in the plot but I do always get a kick out of seeing Australia featured in a global story as an important part! I also really came to like Corey, the rather ‘different’ Australian helicopter pilot that assists Judd, and his dog Spike. At first I wasn’t quite sure about them – but I think the amusing dialogue combined with Corey’s relaxed manner and skill as a pilot won me over.

Worland is currently writing a sequel to Velocity which will be released next year from Penguin AU and I’ll definitely keep reading. If you are fond of expansive terrorist plots, explosions, gun battles, stunt flying and the battle of good vs evil then you’ll find lots to enjoy in this book. It makes a great story to read in one sitting.(less)

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Oct 06, 2012 Cazg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fast paced and eye opening in regard to Nasa technicalities - exciting action scenes that you easily envision working on the big screen but read as ludicrous considering te feats this guy is expected to pull off in the time frame given no matter what level of injury/pain he is dealing with. Also ludicrous that jefoes 't die the many many times he is under fire by so called expert mercenaries. To quote Breaker Morant - why the hell can't they "shoot straight yer bastards!" - of course then the b...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Greg Barron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Velocity is a page turner in the mould of Matthew Reilly’s fast paced thrillers. It has a great premise, some surprising plot twists and appealing characters. I particularly liked Corey, the Australian, and his dog Spike. The action moves around the world with a deft touch. I wasn’t surprised by Steve Worland’s screenwriting background, as there is a professionalism to the writing that takes a lot of work to achieve. There are also some nice character touches, ‘… the weasel comes out of the hole...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Tantri Setyorini rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-read, science-fiction

My giveaway copy already arrive.
When I read all the reviews, I was a little surprised. Just 10 reviews! Only 10? Why? It's a great book with proper research. Did anyone else read Velocity?
I don't ask to those teens who adores YA. Yes, they wrote the most reviews. But they read and praised the worst books I ever read. I'm asking this to all adult readers who love suspense, thriller, or any similar genre. Come on, it's really worth reading. It's what I call 'book that informed you some knowledge...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Kiwicmc rated it 4 of 5 stars

Don't be put off by the relentless product placement in the first couple of chapters. It settles down and then is a great read. Very movie like in it's action sequences. I wonder if there were a few hidden digs behind some of the characters....

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Aug 28, 2012 Balthazar Lawson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I always enjoy a good adventure/thriller/action read and this book as it all. Boring people will say "oh that can't happen" but it's fiction and with fiction anything can happen. That's what I like about this book. It's easy to read and totally enjoyable.

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Nov 06, 2012 Susla rated it 4 of 5 stars

'Velocity' was a great debut action/thriller from Steve Worland and I look forward to the next installment.
Judson Bell is an astronaut who's not having the best run of luck. When the latest space shuttle launch is sabotaged with Judd's girlfriend on the crew, he takes the opportunity to save the day. Sent to a remote Australian outback space monitoring facility, the action comes closer than he was expecting. With the help of a slightly crazy Aussie helicopter pilot, Corey, (whose best mate and...more

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May 09, 2013 Hans added it

Light, but fast paced and very readable.

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Nov 18, 2012 Ailish rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book gets off to a clunky start, and the present tense narration takes some getting used to, but around half way through it starts to become really enjoyable as the action picks up, a lovely character joins the plot, and it becomes clear that the author is not taking himself too seriously. The action is wildly improbable, but in this book that's part of what makes it so much fun.

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Aug 31, 2012 Clare Cannon marked it as grg-reviewer

AM reviewed for www.goodreadingguide.com

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May 06, 2013 Shane Lewis rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About Steve Worland

Steve has worked extensively in film and television in Australia and the U.S.A.

He has written scripts for Working Title and Icon Productions, worked in script development for James Cameron's Lightstorm and wrote Fox Searchlight's Bootmen, which won five Australian Film Institute awards.

Steve also wrote the New Line action-comedy telemovie Hard Knox, episodes of the television series Big Sky and...more

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